Excerpt:So, last Feb. 4 and 5, Elnes joined 50 activists at the Progressive Christian Leadership Summit here, to draw up strategies for a theological and political confrontation with the Christian Right, by re-popularizing “core Christian values” such as “compassion, justice and love of God, neighbor and self.”

Drawing inspiration from Christian leaders who stood on the frontlines of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s, the summit also mapped out an action plan to promote causes such as universal health care, help for the poor and opposition to terrorism, torture, military adventurism and racism.